"Great-grandfather, let's stop killing people." Little Zhu was bold enough to argue with Old Zhu. "Oh no, let's drive them away!"

Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, picking up Little Zhu and affectionately pressing his cheek against Little Zhu's. Old Zhu himself had long been numb to killing, and he felt that killing was the best solution to many problems.

However, if his children and grandchildren could commit fewer killings, Zhu Yuanzhang would be happy to see that. This is also why Zhu Yuanzhang often took the initiative to kill for Zhu Yunying. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang verbally complained about Zhu Yunying's frequent demotions and dismissals, he was still quite pleased in his heart.

"He's your son after all, just like you." Old Zhu couldn't help but laugh, saying with a hint of mockery, "We kill people, but you two kill without shedding blood."

Zhu Yunying was not satisfied. This evaluation was not good. "Sometimes we should leave people a way out. Besides, some people can go back to their hometowns to retire and write books. Isn't that great?"

Looking at his grandson, Old Zhu felt more and more that he himself was a ruthless man who didn't care about infamy. But his precious grandson was incredibly cunning, wanting to maintain both appearances and substance. In a way, he was probably quite similar to some emperors of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han are often described as benevolent, but both were actually quite cunning and ruthless. Emperor Wu of Han, needless to say, inherited this ruthless side of the Liu family emperors, as evidenced by numerous historical accounts.

"Great-grandfather, let's send them all away tomorrow!" Little Zhu perked up, seemingly having found a reason. "We won't go to school, we'll just play in the palace!"

The little fellow, thinking himself clever, realized that the schoolteacher had displeased his great-grandfather and father, so he hatched a wicked plan. If he went to complain now, he might not have to go to school anymore.

It was obvious that the little guy's cleverness was useless. Old Zhu and Little Zhu were indeed dissatisfied with some of the tutors and lecturers, but that didn't mean they wanted Little Zhu to not study. They also didn't want to see an illiterate emperor.

Therefore, Little Zhu's little scheme and scheming were bound to fail without a doubt, without any suspense.

Even if we dote on little Zhu, we still have to stick to some principles. After all, little Zhu is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty and the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty. There are many things that must be taken seriously.

To lecture to the retired emperor, the emperor, and the crown prince—let alone to lecture to all three supreme beings of the mortal realm at once—would be an unparalleled honor, even to lecture to just one of them. Now, the fact that all three supreme beings of the mortal realm wish to hear a lecture makes it even more significant.

Fortunately, the officials in the Hanlin Academy were all well-read and, most importantly, they had given advance notice of the topics to be discussed. Therefore, there was no need to doubt who should be sent instead.

Both Old Zhu and Young Zhu understood some of the principles, but over the years, even though they seemed to have some resistance to Confucianism, there were still some things they valued, and they still listened to lectures when necessary.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from humble beginnings, was able to rule the country and govern it well, which was naturally because he was a diligent student.

However, Zhu the Second did not take advantage of his knowledge of history to neglect his studies. He often had scholars from the Hanlin Academy lecture him, and sometimes he would summon people to present their memorials. Only through continuous learning could he make greater progress.

There are now two lecturers reading aloud, and they are busy explaining to Little Zhu the parts he doesn't understand.

Or, for some points that they consider particularly important, they will have the lecturer read them in detail and remind Little Zhu to study diligently and try to understand them.

It doesn't matter if Little Zhu can't compose poems, nor does it matter if he has little interest in the Four Books and Five Classics. Because the Ming Dynasty doesn't need an emperor with high artistic attainments, nor does it need a Confucian emperor.

However, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty absolutely should have known some principles and how to govern the country well; that was the most important thing!

The three supreme beings in the human realm are studying diligently. They are all extremely serious about governing the Zhu family's empire and never dare to slack off!